Mid-engined and rear-wheel drive are phrases usually associated with the words supercar and astronomically expensive. Or perhaps a motorbike. The Mitsubishi i-car has an engine that wouldn’t be out of place in a motorbike. At 660cc it’s a tiny unit more befitting of something with Kawasaki scrawled on the side, but when you mix that with a turbocharger, an intercooler and the fact that the i-car weighs as much as two wafers, it becomes a fairly sprightly vehicle, ripping through the first couple of cogs of the four-speed auto with ease.

It should come as no surprise then that this is a city car. It’s exceptionally small, fitting into Japan’s kei car category which qualifies it for parking concessions in its motherland, where it was also Car of the Year in 2006.

While I happily drove it all over Auckland’s beautiful and free flowing grid of immaculately kept motorways, it’s noisy at speed and gets blown around in a crosswind on its skinny tyres 145/65R15 front tyres and 175/55R15 rear tyres. But, it’s damn near perfect for weaving between the high rises, ducking up narrow back alleys and parking in spaces you would fit a half of a Rolls-Royce Phantom in.

Freed of the tribulations of propelling the car, and situated almost beyond the corners, the front wheels turn the i-car 180-degrees in only 4.5m. That’s less than one-third of the 14.36m the Land Rover Defender 110 that’s currently in the Car and SUV garage can manage.

The rear wheels are also situated on the extremities and, for a car that’s only 3.4m long, this gives the narrow i-car a surprising amount of room inside for the four passengers.

The interior is relatively tasteful. A giant digital speed readout is surrounded by the rev counter, with further digital displays for fuel and engine temperature. This rev counter shows almost 4000rpm at 110kph, making it a tad harsh and noisy for travelling long distances on the open road. I am a fan of the engine sound, but I’ll guarantee the i-car’s target audience will want less decibels.

A rather gaudy flashing stereo and CD player sits high in the centre of the dash. This had a fairly good sound, but the reception from the stubby aerial dropped out early.

A couple of airbags are perfectly adequate at city speeds, especially with the included ABS and electronic brakeforce distribution, and the design which sees the engine placed to absorb rear impacts, and the fuel tank located more centrally.

The i-car will drive a long way on its 35-litre tank of fuel, as it frugally sips just 5.43l/100km — you hardly need to spend twice the amount buying a hybrid when this car will nearly match them, in-part, helped by an aerodynamic underbody and its 900kg kerb weight. It will also match or beat many other economical cars in the acceleration stakes. Sure, 11 seconds to 100kph isn’t going to set your hair on fire, but you can win the traffic light grands prix with some quick reflexes.

The gecko-green i-car got more looks than the Hummer H3 I was driving the week before. It would make a fantastic promotional vehicle except that Mitsubishi neglected to put a boot blind in, so you cannot hide anything in the interior. The remainder of the cabin has scant storage as well.

But if you were going to use it as a promotional car and didn’t care about the boot blind, what do you get? Well, a body shape that would be easy to apply graphics to, wide opening doors, and rear seats that fold flat to give a useful cargo area. It would undoubtedly be cheap to insure, wielding only 48kW from the three-cylinder engine, and the petrol bills would be meagre. There’s also a convenient keyless unlock, start, stop and lock — just keep the remote in your pocket.

It makes perfect sense as a city car — frugal, highly manoeuvrable with excellent visibility all-round, and easy to fit in the tightest of parking spaces. Driving it around the city is entertaining. It understeers predictably if the right-hand pedal isn’t moderated, but the fact that the i-car’s capabilities are so easy to explore makes it an engaging drive.

Price: from $17,990

What we like

• Highly manoeuvrable
• Frugal
• Eye-catching

What we don’t like

• Skittish in crosswinds
• Engine is noisy (though it sounds good)
• Interior storage is scant

Words and photos Darren Cottingham

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